The present invention relates to film handling systems, and more particularly to a system for automatically loading planar film sheets, such as microfiche, onto a film positioning mechanism.
Planer sheets of film, such as microfiche, provide a convenient medium for the bulk storage of information, and have long been used in this capacity. Since the data contained on these microfiche is reduced to very small dimensions, it is necessary that the microfiche be positioned very precisely with respect the optical axis of the optical recording or reading apparatus. Although this could be accomplished manually, considerations of cost and efficiency make it highly desirable to devise mechanisms for performing this function automatically.
In order to accomplish this goal, some means must be provided for first grasping the fiche, and for then positioning the fiche with respect to the optical axis of the recording or reading mechanism. The effectiveness of this method is in large part determined by the precision with which a microfiche can be inserted onto the film grasping device, since the position of the grasping head, itself, may be very precisely controlled by using any number of well known X/Y positioning mechanisms. Loading of the fiche onto the grasping head could, again, be done manually but to do so would in large part defeat the effectiveness of the automatic positioning system. It is therefore necessary to provide an automatic mechanism which is capable of very precisely and reliably loading a microfiche or similar planar film sheet onto a film grasping device.